Inshore — Sounds, Creeks, Jetties

Nearshore — Beach to ~20 mi

Offshore — Ledges, Snapper Banks, Gulf Stream

Inshore

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  Redfish — Year-round — sight-cast gold spoons and topwater to tailing fish on summer flood tides; in winter slow a soft-plastic for schooled fish in clear creeks.GearGold weedless spoonsFish-finder bottom rigs7/0–8/0 circle hooks

  How to ID

  • Coppery-bronze to reddish back, white belly
  • One or more black ocellated (eyespot) spots at base of tail
  • No barbels under chin
  • Square-ish, slightly notched tail
  • Subterminal (underslung) mouth, no large canines

  Tell it apart: The black spot(s) on the tail base plus the absence of chin barbels separate redfish from the barbeled, bar-sided black drum.

  Easily confused with: Black Drum

• 
  Spotted Seatrout — Warm months — work topwater and paddletails fast over grass flats; cold months — crawl a slow-sinking twitchbait through deeper mud holes.GearMirrOlure twitchbaitsPaddletails + jigheadsPopping corks

  How to ID

  • Silvery body, dark gray/green back
  • Distinct round black spots scattered over back AND running onto the dorsal fin and tail
  • Two prominent canine fangs at tip of upper jaw
  • Soft, elongate body; no barbels
  • Yellow-orange mouth lining
  • No black spot at the base of the tail

  Tell it apart: Loose black spots that extend onto the fins and tail, plus two large canine teeth, confirm a seatrout; redfish instead has no canines and one or more spots only at the tail base.

  Easily confused with: Redfish

• 
  Flounder — Drag a jighead with a mud minnow or Gulp! along sandy edges and inlets — the fall run (Oct–Nov) as they stage to leave is the window.GearSoft-plastic jigheadsGulp! soft baitsFlounder rigs

  How to ID

  • Flat, oval body lying on one side
  • Both eyes on the same (upper) side of the head
  • Brown mottled upper side with scattered ocellated spots, white blind underside
  • Large mouth with sharp teeth
  • Continuous dorsal and anal fins fringing the body margin

  Tell it apart: A flat fish with both eyes on the same side, lying on its blind white underside, is unmistakably a flounder; no other regional gamefish is laterally compressed onto one side.

• 
  Sheepshead — Winter into early spring — fish fiddler crabs or shrimp tight to jetty rock and pilings; set on the lightest tick.GearSheepshead hooksKnocker rigs20 lb fluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • Silvery body with 5-6 bold black vertical bars
  • Prominent human-like incisor teeth at front of mouth
  • Strong, sharp dorsal and anal fin spines
  • Steep, blunt forehead profile
  • Small terminal mouth, no chin barbels

  Tell it apart: Forward-set human-like incisor teeth and the absence of chin barbels distinguish sheepshead from the similarly barred but barbeled, blunt-toothed black drum.

  Easily confused with: Black Drum

• 
  Black Drum — Late winter into spring — half a blue crab on a bottom rig over hard bottom and around bridges in 8–15 ft.GearFish-finder rigs6/0 circle hooksBank sinkers

  How to ID

  • High-backed gray to silvery body, brassy sheen
  • Several chin barbels under the lower jaw
  • Young show 4-5 dark vertical bars (fade with age)
  • Cobblestone-like crushing pharyngeal teeth, no canines
  • Subterminal mouth
  • No black spot on the tail

  Tell it apart: Chin barbels under the lower jaw are present on black drum and absent on both redfish and sheepshead; black drum also lacks the redfish tail spot and the sheepshead's incisor teeth.

  Easily confused with: Redfish, Sheepshead

• 
  Tarpon — Summer only — soak big live menhaden on circle hooks at the inlet drop-offs on the moon tides.Gear9/0–10/0 circle hooks80 lb fluorocarbon leaderBait cast net

  How to ID

  • Large bright silver scales (silver-plated look)
  • Single dorsal fin with a long trailing filament at the rear
  • Large upturned (superior) mouth, bony upturned lower jaw
  • Big eyes; deeply forked tail
  • No spots, scutes, or barbels

  Tell it apart: Huge silver-dollar scales and a long trailing filament off the back of the dorsal fin make the tarpon unmistakable.

• 
  Tripletail — Late spring through summer — idle markers and crab-pot buoys, spot the fish, and pitch a live shrimp under a cork past it.GearPopping corks1/0–2/0 Kahle hooksInshore spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Dark brown to mottled yellow-olive body
  • Rounded dorsal and anal fins set far back, giving a three-tailed look
  • Compressed, deep, perch-like body
  • Concave (dished) forehead profile
  • Often seen floating on its side near structure/flotsam

  Tell it apart: Rounded dorsal and anal fins positioned far back near the tail create the trademark 'three-tail' silhouette that names the fish.

Nearshore

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  Spanish Mackerel — Spring through fall — troll small Clarkspoons fast behind a planer, or cast metal into diving birds.GearClarkspoon trolling spoonsNo. 1–2 trolling planersGotcha casting plugs

  How to ID

  • Greenish back, silver sides with round golden-yellow spots (no stripes)
  • Front third of first dorsal fin jet black
  • Lateral line slopes gently to the tail, no abrupt dip
  • Forked tail; row of finlets behind dorsal and anal fins
  • Adults rarely exceed a few pounds (much smaller than king)

  Tell it apart: Golden-yellow oval spots plus a black front patch on the first dorsal fin and an evenly sloping lateral line separate Spanish from the spot-poor king mackerel.

  Easily confused with: King Mackerel, Bonito / FA

• 
  King Mackerel — Late spring through fall — slow-troll live menhaden or cigar minnows on wire stinger rigs 5–15 mi out.GearKing mackerel stinger rigsSea-witch trolling skirtsCoated wire leader

  How to ID

  • Steel-blue back, silver sides; adults lack spots
  • Lateral line drops sharply downward below the second dorsal fin
  • First dorsal fin uniformly pale (no black front patch); folds into a groove
  • Slender elongate body, deeply forked tail
  • Row of finlets behind dorsal and anal fins
  • Juveniles may show faint yellow spots

  Tell it apart: The sharp downward dip in the lateral line under the second dorsal, plus a pale (not black-fronted) first dorsal fin, marks a king mackerel.

  Easily confused with: Spanish Mackerel, Wahoo

• 
  Cobia — The spring run (Apr–May) — run the beach in 10–30 ft on calm days and sight-cast a bucktail to fish on rays and pods.GearCobia bucktail jigsSoft-plastic eel luresHeavy spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Long, broad, flattened head; dark brown back
  • Single horizontal dark stripe with paler band above and below
  • Row of 7-9 short, stout, separate spines ahead of the dorsal fin (no connecting membrane)
  • Broad shark/remora-like head with projecting lower jaw
  • White belly; broad, slightly forked tail

  Tell it apart: A brown lateral stripe on a flat-headed, remora-like body with low isolated dorsal spines identifies cobia (often mistaken at a glance for a shark, which has gill slits and rough denticle skin).

  Easily confused with: Sharks

• 
  Bonito / FA — Spring and fall pushes — race to busting bait and birds, then burn a fast-sinking metal or epoxy jig through the school.GearEpoxy jigsCasting metal lures30 lb fluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • Football-shaped, steel-blue back; corselet of larger scales over the chest
  • Atlantic bonito: straight dark oblique stripes running onto the upper back
  • Little tunny (false albacore): wavy/wormlike markings confined to the back above the lateral line, plus 3-7 dark fingerprint spots between the pectoral and pelvic fins
  • Belly otherwise silvery; small mouth with fine teeth
  • Deeply forked tail; row of finlets

  Tell it apart: Back stripes/wavy marks over a largely clean belly (with little tunny's fingerprint spots) separate bonito/false albacore from the round-yellow-spotted Spanish mackerel and the deeper-bodied blackfin tuna.

  Easily confused with: Spanish Mackerel, Blackfin Tuna

• 
  Sharks — Warm months — anchor up-current of an inlet, send an oily cut bait down a chum slick on wire; circle hooks for a clean release.GearWire shark leaders10/0+ circle hooksHeavy boat combo

  How to ID

  • Cartilaginous body, 5-7 gill slits on each side (no gill cover)
  • Rough sandpaper skin (dermal denticles), no true scales
  • Heterocercal tail with longer upper lobe
  • Mouth set under the snout (ventral)
  • Multiple rows of replaceable teeth
  • Rigid fins that do not fold into grooves

  Tell it apart: Open gill slits and rough denticle skin confirm a shark; common SE species split by snout/teeth: blacktip (black fin tips), bonnethead (shovel head), Atlantic sharpnose (white-spotted with white fin edges).

  Easily confused with: Cobia

Offshore

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  Wahoo — Late fall through winter — high-speed troll 12–18 kt with weighted Ilander or jet heads on wire leader.GearIlander-style trolling luresSingle-strand wire leaderOffshore trolling combo

  How to ID

  • Long, slender, torpedo body; iridescent blue-gray with vivid blue vertical bars
  • Long beak-like snout with razor triangular teeth
  • Tall first dorsal fin running most of the back
  • Deeply forked tail, row of finlets
  • Hinged jaw that folds; skin appears nearly scaleless

  Tell it apart: Vivid electric-blue vertical bars and a long razor-toothed beak separate wahoo from the unbarred, spot-free king mackerel.

  Easily confused with: King Mackerel

• 
  Blackfin Tuna — Best in the cooler months — vertical-jig or live-bait the Snapper Banks ledges at first light.GearVertical speed jigs8/0 circle hooks50 lb fluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • Dark blue-black back, silver sides; deep football body with a chest corselet
  • Finlets dusky/black, edged white-gray (NOT bright yellow as in other tunas)
  • Short pectoral fins, not reaching past the second dorsal origin
  • Smallest tuna; no oblique back stripes or fingerprint belly spots
  • Faint yellow on the central finlets at most

  Tell it apart: Dark finlets lacking bright yellow, on a deep football body with no back stripes, separate blackfin from the back-striped, fingerprint-spotted bonito/false albacore.

  Easily confused with: Bonito / FA

• 
  Mahi (Dolphin) — Late spring into summer — hunt weed lines, color changes and birds 30–60 mi out, then pitch ballyhoo or jigs to the school.GearTrolling skirt lures6/0 circle hooksOffshore spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Brilliant green-gold-blue with iridescent spots, fading after death
  • Long-based dorsal fin running nearly head to tail
  • Squared, blunt forehead in adult males (bulls); rounded in females
  • Deeply forked bright-yellow tail
  • Compressed body, single long-based anal fin

  Tell it apart: A single long dorsal fin spanning almost the whole back over a brilliant green-and-gold body is diagnostic of mahi.

• 
  Sailfish — Spring and fall peaks — slow-troll or kite live baits along the break, or pull a dredge-and-ballyhoo spread; circle hooks for clean releases.GearBallyhoo rigging kit6/0–7/0 circle hooks60 lb fluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • Huge sail-like first dorsal fin, far taller than the body is deep
  • Long spear-like upper bill (rounded in cross-section)
  • Cobalt blue back, silver sides with rows of pale blue spots/bars
  • Slender body; very long, thin pelvic fins
  • Two keels on each side of the tail base (billfish family)

  Tell it apart: The enormous sail-shaped dorsal fin, taller than the body's depth, instantly separates sailfish from the lower-finned marlins (keel count is shared by both, so use the fin).

  Easily confused with: Marlin

• 
  Marlin — A summer fishery — pull big skirted lures and rigged ballyhoo at 7–9 kt along blue-water temperature breaks.GearMarlin trolling luresHeavy trolling comboHeavy mono leader

  How to ID

  • Stout, round-sectioned bill (spear)
  • Pointed, stiff first dorsal fin lower than body depth (blue marlin)
  • Cobalt/blue-black back, silver-white belly
  • Often pale blue vertical bars on the flanks
  • Two keels on each side of the tail base
  • High shoulder, heavy body

  Tell it apart: A pointed first dorsal fin shorter than the body is deep marks a marlin, versus the sailfish's towering full-length sail.

  Easily confused with: Sailfish

• 
  Red Snapper* — A very short federal season (mid-summer) — drop cut bait or pinfish on a knocker rig over live bottom and ledges.GearKnocker rigs7/0–9/0 circle hooksBottom / deep-drop combo

  How to ID

  • Uniform brick-red to rosy body, red iris
  • Sloping forehead and pointed snout
  • Anal fin pointed/angular (not rounded)
  • Enlarged canine teeth in the jaws; large mouth
  • Tail only slightly forked; juveniles show a dark spot high on the side that fades with age

  Tell it apart: A red eye, angular anal fin, canine teeth and a barely forked tail separate the larger red snapper from the small-mouthed, deeply-forked-tailed vermilion.

  Easily confused with: Vermilion / B-sea

• 
  Vermilion / B-sea — Year-round bottom fishing — multi-hook rigs with small squid or cut strips on the ledges and Snapper Banks.GearMulti-hook bottom rigsSquid bait stripsBottom fishing combo

  How to ID

  • Vermilion/red back fading to silvery-pink sides
  • Large yellow-gold eye relative to a small mouth
  • Faint yellow streaks/dashes along the upper sides
  • Rounded anal fin; no enlarged canine teeth
  • Deeply forked tail; smaller, more slender body than red snapper

  Tell it apart: A proportionally large eye over a tiny mouth, a rounded anal fin and a deeply forked tail flag a vermilion (beeliner) versus the canine-toothed, red-eyed, barely-forked red snapper.

  Easily confused with: Red Snapper*